{"id":34833,"date":"2025-08-12T11:20:39","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T15:20:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=34833"},"modified":"2025-08-12T11:20:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T15:20:39","slug":"how-chinese-owned-volvo-inspired-foreign-made-polestar-startup-is-navigating-the-ev-market-tariffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/how-chinese-owned-volvo-inspired-foreign-made-polestar-startup-is-navigating-the-ev-market-tariffs","title":{"rendered":"How Chinese-owned, Volvo-inspired, foreign-made Polestar startup is navigating the EV market, tariffs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"The<\/em><\/p>\n

The 2026 Polestar 4 bears the brand’s signature dual-blade headlights.<\/em><\/div>\n

Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n

Montreal \u2014<\/em>\u00a0Volvo Cars created its performance-focused Polestar electric vehicle brand to go head-to-head against Tesla. A subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, it is also the first Chinese-owned EV brand for sale in the United States and sits at the intersection of swift industry currents, including import tariffs, electrification and government subsidies.<\/p>\n

Made in South Korea and coming to the North American market this fall, the Swedish-designed, compact Polestar 4 SUV is the brand\u2019s most important product in the industry\u2019s biggest segment, taking on the best-selling Tesla Model Y.<\/p>\n

The 4, built on the same platform as China\u2019s Zeekr 001, is at the heart of a model lineup that includes a Polestar 2 (Model 3 sedan competitor), Polestar 3 (midsize SUV), Polestar 7 (due in 2026) and Polestar 1 sports coupe. When it goes on sale this fall, Polestar 4 will face ill feelings toward China post-COVID, the stagnation of the EV market and 25% import tariffs at a time when Canadian and U.S. EV government subsidies are going away.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Polestar says it is full speed ahead for the North American luxury market.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince Polestar was created, it was always designed, engineered and managed from Sweden. It was very important that we had independence,\u201d Dean Shaw, Polestar’s chief of public relations and communications, said in an interview here. \u201cWe have many shareholders (and) a very large shareholder, of course, that’s based (in China). We don’t see any concerns around this. We’ve got a lot of independence, we’re free to do what we need to do, and we are overseen by regulations in the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n

Owned by Ford Motor Co. from 1999-2010, Volvo was sold to Geely, which today owns about 80% of the company. Polestar earned early notoriety for modifying Volvos as race cars and ultimately evolved to Volvo\u2019s official performance partner (think AMG for Mercedes). Volvo bought Polestar in 2015 and repurposed it as an EV brand in 2017 to attract investment \u2014 and engineering learnings \u2014 at a time when EV startups were red hot amid soaring Tesla evaluations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t think people know that Polestar is owned by the Chinese,\u201d said auto analyst Rebecca Lindland, managing director for Allison Worldwide. \u201cI don’t think people know Volvo is owned by Geely, either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Due<\/figure>\n
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Due to generous provincial and federal subsidies, Quebec has been the best-selling market for Polestar EVs. However, some of those subsidies \u2014 as in the United States with the sunsetting of the $7,500 federal tax credit \u2014 will not be available for the 2026 Polestar 4 due to budget constraints.<\/em><\/div>\n

Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n

Lindland said that there was a \u201clot of tension\u201d in Gothenburg (Volvo\u2019s Swedish headquarters) when Geely bought Volvo. \u201cBut (the Chinese) have basically taken the Warren Buffett approach: if you’re doing things well, I’m going to leave you alone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Unlike EV startups Rivian Automotive Inc., Lucid Motors, Fisker Inc., and Bollinger Motors that have struggled to build sustainable capital and manufacturing models, Polestar has access to Geely\u2019s deep capital resources and international manufacturing footprint. Its four EVs have been built in Chengdu, China (Polestar 1 alongside the Zeekr X EV small SUV), Luqiao, China (Polestar 2 alongside the Volvo XC40), Ridgeville, South Carolina (Polestar 3 alongside Volvo S60 sedan, XC60 and EX90 EV SUVs), and Busan, South Korea (Polestar 4 alongside Geely and Renault models).<\/p>\n